Popping the Cork

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT) will unveil its second property in Ireland in the spring of 2006, with the new Sheraton Fota Island Golf Resort & Spa in Cork, company officials have announced.

The 133-room luxury Sheraton-branded resort, on Fota Island in County Cork on the southern Irish coast, is being constructed on the site of the existing Fota Island Golf Club, which served as the home of the Irish Open in 2001 and 2002.

In addition to the championship golf course, hotel and lodge, the facility will include a full-service destination spa with 17 treatment rooms, a hydropool, walking river, gymnasium, swimming pool and conservatory for post-treatment relaxation.

Also on site will be a specialty restaurant, a full-service dining restaurant and Whiskey Bar. The resort also will ultimately include more than 250 luxury residential lodges.

Located 20 minutes from Cork Airport, the island is also host to Ireland's only wildlife park as well as Fota House, an 18th-century hunting lodge renowned for its breathtaking gardens.

In June 2006, Fota Island Golf Course is hosting the AIB Irish Seniors Open Golf Championship. With the launch of the new resort, the existing PGA-endorsed golf course will be enhanced by the addition of another nine championship holes created by course architect Jeff Howes.

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